Only days earlier, a family court judge told Powell that he was not likely to get custody of the boys anytime soon, and that he needed to undergo a psychological review. The boys were in the custody of their grandparents, Chuck and Judy Cox.

Powell had denied any role in his wife’s disappearance, and had told police that she went missing while he took the boys on an overnight camping trip in a snowstorm. He recently told the family court judge that Chuck and Judy were not taking good care of the boys and were turning their two sons against him.